State mottoes:
Animis opibusque parati (Prepared in mind and resources) and
Dum spiro spero (While I breathe, I hope)

Dear Heavenly Father,
Blow Your Holy Spirit through this state. Bring sinews, flesh, and skin to dry bones and the mind of Christ to dry skulls. Release the wealth of the land for the establishment of Your kingdom on earth. Amen.

Like this:

Kendall Harmon has posted a great Lenten message by Bp. Mark Lawrence of the Diocese of South Carolina.

I was particularly struck by this section:

A positive reason for such self-denial, is described well by a Bishop of the Isle of Man, “those who deny themselves will be sure to find their strength increased, their affections raised, and their inward peace continually augmented.” I prefer to say it more simply, it enkindles love. For instance, the lover who makes some sacrifice for his sweetheart, or the parent who gives up some personal time for his son or daughter’s performance at the school concert does not find his love lessened by this self-denial or sacrifice. Quite the contrary, one’s affections are enkindled by such personal sacrifice. So it is with our self-denial for our Lord; it increases our affection for Him.

“‘Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.'” (Luke 24:49) A word received: It is my word, my gift that I want to give you. Turn to me according to my word to receive the gift of my Spirit.

“‘For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your offspring;'” (Isaiah 44:3) A word received: Turn to me: ask me to help you recognize your thirst for what it is. Turn to me and I will pour out living water on you.

“‘Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!”‘” (Ezekiel 37:4) A word received: How I long for the dry bones of my church to hear my word and live it out in my Spirit.

“‘Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken it, and I will do it.'” (Ezekiel 36:36) A word received: You cannot rebuild my church in your own strength — you need my Holy Spirit to empower and guide you.

“‘For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns–broken cisterns that can hold no water.'” (Jeremiah 2:13) A word received: I want you to recognize the evils for what they are: my people have forsaken me — they have turned to other gods — other philosophies that cannot satisfy, and they have dug for themselves cisterns that cannot retain water — water living or water that is stale and dead. Turn to me, my people: repent and receive my living water.

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So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” (Exodus 3:4)
Holy Father, do whatever it takes to get our attention to cause us to turn aside from the daily pursuit of the mundane to find you.

Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5)
Holy Spirit, please help us recognize when we are standing on holy ground; help us know when we come into your presence.

Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father–the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. (Exodus 3:6)
Jesus, please help us respond with awe at your presence.

And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.” (Exodus 3:7)
Jesus, thank you for knowing and responding to our sorrows.

“So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.” (Exodus 3:8 )
Jesus, please deliver your people out of the hand of the false teachers and faithless shepherds who lead the Episcopal Church.

“Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.” (Exodus 3:9)
Father, thank you for hearing the cries of your children and seeing their oppression by sin.

“Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:10)
Holy Spirit, please help each of us respond as you call us to the work and ministry you have set aside for us. Thank you.

Like this:

When you find that weariness depresses or amusement distracts you, you will calmly turn with an untroubled spirit to your Heavenly Father, who is always holding out His arms to you. You will look to Him for gladness and refreshment when depressed, for moderation and recollection when in good spirits, and you will find that He will never leave you to want. A trustful glance, a silent movement of the heart towards Him will renew your strength; and though you may often feel as if your soul were downcast and numb, whatever God calls you to do, He will give you power and courage to perform. Our Heavenly Father, so far from ever overlooking us, is only waiting to find our hearts open, to pour into them the torrents of His grace.

While nothing in this quotation is explicitly about Lent or repentance or spiritual disciplines, it strikes me that the passage above is nonetheless perfect as a description of what Lent should be:

– a choice to look to Christ,

– a movement of our heart towards Him,

– a setting aside of any emotions that would keep us from trusting Him,

– renewing our heart and mind in His promises and assurances of His love so that in trust and confidence we will more fully open our hearts to Him and allow the mighty torrents of His grace to rush in and transform us.

+–indicates received wooden cross made by Dennis Adams of North Carolina

+ Debbie — asked prayer for a place to live and that she would be able to “get my act together” – as she walked away she called out to a friend, “Abdul – get over here and get some prayer!”

Jim – one of our “regulars” – he wanted to thank God for the peace of mind he has been given

+ Tim — another man who has stopped for prayer many times – a believer; asked us to pray that he will “stay in God’s grace” – we prayed for the Lord to strengthen him, give him continued sobriety, and for a blessing on his cleaning business

+ Alex — a young man walking by with a little girl (+ Amora) – they turned down our offer for prayer but did accept crosses

+ Elaine – asked prayer for her husband (Tom) – she was on her way to participate in the ‘40 days for Life’ ministry in front of Planned Parenthood (to find out more about it, go to http://40daysforlife.com/schenectady/)

+ Stella – asked prayer for good health

+ Zaitri – mother with 2 young girls and a baby in a carriage – the girls got big smiles on their face when we gave them crosses; after we prayed for them, Zaitri asked us to pray again, this time for her husband (Jiwan), that he will get a job

Jamey – a man across the street – we called out to him to see if he wanted prayer — he said he was on his way to work and couldn’t stop but would like prayer; we prayed for him from across the street for the Lord’s blessing on his life

+ John — man who stopped for prayer with his 2 kids (elementary-age son + Daniel and middle school-age daughter + Tamara) – asked prayer for his family – we prayed that God would help him be the husband and father God wants him to be

Dianne – another person on her way to participate in the ‘40 days for Life’ ministry in front of Planned Parenthood – we prayed for her husband (Tom) and her daughter-in-law (Georgina) who went to med school in Mexico and is now trying to find a residency position in the US

+–indicates received wooden cross made by Dennis Adams of North Carolina

+ Calvin: Needs a car, to keep his job and get his GED. Prayed for direction, protection and provision.

Cheryl: Prayed for Beth the director of Alpha who isn’t feeling well

Dan: An end to abortion

+Fransisco: Prayed for his daughter +Cynthia who lives out of town. It is her birthday. He was going to send her a cross.

+Hugh: Initially said no he was in a hurry. Didn’t even make it to the corner and came back. Prayed for success in his job hunt and for God’s provision. He smiled when he got up and said “that was great, I needed that, I am so excited now” Praise the Lord.

Frank: For all who lost their lives in the recent earth quakes.

+Ricky: Everyone in the area, for peace.

+George: Safety and provision.

Blessings,

Dcn. Neal

PRAYER TABLE REPORT (Saturday, March 6, 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m; St. Mary’s of Lake Luzerne, in front of the Parish Hall before our weekly Saturday community luncheon.)
Note: Bright and beautiful sunny day about 40 degrees. What a wonderful day, and people came for prayer!

a–indicates anointed with Holy Oil.
t–indicates received a wooden cross made by Dennis Adams of North Carolina.

a–RUTH — She is a regular to the Table who has a granddaughter MELISSA who has been bothered with stomach pains and unexplained dizziness since late Fall. Doctors finally have diagnosed what was wrong — she had part of a sponge in her stomach left behind from a previous surgery that has caused infection, and she has an inner ear problem causing the dizziness. She is taking medicines for both ailments and the hope is that the medicine will cure her. We prayed for a complete return to health for Melissa, and for relief from anxiety and fears for Ruth.

a,t — DUANE — He recently had replacement hip surgery and is starting to get around better. We prayed for complete healing for Duane, and we also prayed for protection for family member MATTHEW who is serving in Afghanistan.

a– LINDA — Prayed for her protection and preservation as she prepares to have surgery on her left hip. Next month the surgeons will work on the right hip.

a–PATRICIA — This pleasant lady requested prayer for ” … nothing in particular; just that things will continue to go along smoothly; for continued good health.” We prayed for this in earnest.

a,t — (ANONYMOUS WOMAN); didn’t want me to write down her name) — She asked for prayers for more peace and harmony in her home. She said she and her husband are always arguing with each other and she wanted to ask God to have the arguing stop once and for all. (This was a very serious prayer request. She debated coming forward at all; praise God that she asked for prayer. She needed to get this off her chest. Please pray that God will work in her marriage and bring love and peace to this couple.)